Anil Masih fiasco fallout: Show of hands, not secret ballot, in next Chandigarh mayoral polls
The 2026 Chandigarh mayoral elections will be conducted through a show of hands instead of secret ballots — a fallout of the 2024 controversy in which then-presiding officer Anil Masih was caught on camera tampering with votes. In the 2024 mayoral elections, then presiding officer Anil Masih, a nominated councillor in the MC, was caught on camera invalidating eight votes cast in favour of AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor, in an apparent attempt to secure victory for the BJP's Manoj Sonkar. (HT File)
Following persistent demands from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress for greater transparency in the electoral process, UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on Tuesday approved an amendment to Regulation 6 of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996. With this amendment, the mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy Mayor will now be elected through a show of hands instead of the earlier secret-ballot method.
Kataria said the new system will bring greater transparency in the election process and strengthen people's trust in democratic processes.
The proposal had been sent to the administrator after it was cleared in the Chandigarh MC House.
Since the establishment of the Chandigarh MC in 1996, mayoral elections have been conducted through secret ballots.
In the 2024 mayoral elections, then presiding officer Anil Masih, a nominated councillor in the MC, was caught on camera invalidating eight votes cast in favour of AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor, in an apparent attempt to secure victory for the BJP's Manoj Sonkar.
The Supreme Court (SC) later ruled that the vote tampering was deliberate and overturned the results, declaring Dhalor the winner. This decision gave Chandigarh its first non-BJP, non-Congress mayor. The incident sparked nationwide outrage and damaged the BJP's credibility, as reflected in the subsequent Lok Sabha election results.
During the MC House meeting in October 2024, AAP, led by former mayor Dhalor, along with its INDIA bloc alliance partner Congress, passed a resolution proposing that future elections be conducted through a show of hands.
In January 2025, former mayor Dhalor filed a petition before the SC to replace the secret ballot system with open voting to ensure fairness. However, the SC refused to intervene and left the decision to the administration.
The shift to an open voting system will benefit the party with the highest number of councillors, as any councillor wishing to vote for an opposition candidate will have to do so publicly. This will enable political parties to take disciplinary action against councillors who defy party lines.
In the 2025 elections, the BJP secured the mayoral position through cross-voting, gaining three opposition votes from AAP and Congress councillors. However, with the new system, such manipulations will become difficult, as councillors will be required to publicly raise their hands to cast votes—similar to how resolutions on development projects and other issues are passed in the House. The mayoral elections are conducted by the deputy commissioner's office.
Chandigarh currently lacks an anti-defection law, which allows councillors to switch parties before elections. As a result, party-switching among councillors has been a recurring issue before every election.
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